Agile is a hype word used by the IT industry to describe the substitute for project management. It is one of the world’s most widely used and recognized software development framework. Agile methodology is basically a method for software development that believes in delivery in increments and emphasizes on continuous planning and designing at every step of software development and does not believe at final step delivery.
The process encourages flexibility, adaptability, and communication in the development of software. In developing complex projects, the agile software development helps the team to work effectively and efficiently through the practice of iterative and incremental techniques which could display greater results.
In short, the development process goes through a number of iterations. Here the work is divided between team members and the whole team works towards one goal. Agile methodology believes in continual learning and improving the development process.
There are four core values in agile software development –
- Individual and team cooperation’s over procedures and tools
- A working programming code over documentation
- Client joint effort over contract arrangement
- Reacting to change over following a plan
Benefits of Agile Software Development
In its simplest form, agile development offers a lightweight framework for helping teams. It has given a continually procuring practical and specialized way and always maintains a focus on the quick conveyance of business value. Because of this focus, the benefits of agile software development are that organizations are capable of significantly reducing the overall risks associated with software development. Some of the prominent benefits of agile software development are:
- Stakeholder engagement and satisfaction
- Transparency
- Focuses on business value
- Focuses on users
- Early and predictable delivery
- Predictable costs and schedule
- Allows for change
- Improves quality
Agile Methodologies
There are several agile methodologies in practice across the world. Although they share similar philosophies, characteristics, and practices, from the point of implementation it differs in terminology and tactics. Agile methodologies are the conventions that a team chooses to follow in a way that follows agile values and principles. Some of the major agile testing methodologies are –
- Scrum
It is an agile development process that concentrates particularly on the administration of various tasks inside a group based development arena. It trusts in engaging the development group and promoters working in little groups.
- Crystal Methodologies
Crystal methodologies are based on three concepts; chartering, cyclic delivery and wrap up. It focuses on the realization of the uniqueness of the project
- Dynamic Software Development Method (DSDM)
DSDM is a way to deal with programming advancement and gives an agile project delivery framework. The significant part of this strategy is that the clients are required to be included effectively.
- Feature Driven Development (FDD)
This method focuses around designing and building features. Unlike other methods, FDD describes very specific and short phases of work.
- Lean Software development
Lean Software development follows the principle “just in time production”. It aims at increasing the speed of software development and decreasing the costs.
- Extreme Programming (XP)
This is the technique which is extremely helpful when there is a constant change in demands or requirements from the customers. It is also useful when the team is not sure about the functionality of the system.
As a powerful tool for software development, the agile process is not only offering benefits to the developmental team but provides a lot of business profits to the clients too. Many of the project hurdles and pitfalls including cost, schedule, predictability, scope creep, etc. can be tackled with the help of agile project teams, that too in a controlled manner. Thus, by reorganizing and re-envisioning the activities of the project, agile achieves the benefits in a leaner and more business-focused way.